Madrid with the Thomas Sisters

Today we had about a half day to explore Madrid before our late afternoon flights. So we woke up and headed out on the subway straight to Plaza Mayor. Here we saw lots of tourists that looked like all of us and had breakfast. A few photos below:





Then we walked around the Latin quarter and passed some sights. Here’s Tresa in front of Mercado de San Miguel:



We walked by some impressive buildings:



And took pictures of the Cathedral:



And the Royal Palace:



We didn’t want to go inside anything as we had limited time and wanted to just wander. We enjoyed the street music, particularly the accordionists. This was my 3rd time to Madrid, so it was fun showing them around. Here’s a photo of the Sabatini gardens behind the Royal Palace:



And then in front of the palace, but behind the opera:



We had some quick drinks and headed back to our hotel on the subway. I was not feeling 100%, so I rested in the hotel while Mary Ann and Tresa had a small lunch on the corner. We called a cab and headed to the airport where we had to split ways due to the terminals. It was sad to part as we spent the last 12 days together through aches, pains, laughter, and so many memories! Mary Ann and I shared some snacks at the airport, including these ham flavored chips!



Tresa was incredibly thoughtful and Mary Ann with her brevity and Spanish skills coming along, was sheer laughter and fun. We discussed doing the Portuguese way in 2021 as that’s the jubilee year for the cathedral and the renovations are supposed to be completed by then. So hopefully then we could attend the pilgrim mass, see the portico, and head to the ocean - all the things we didn’t get to do on this Camino. But we were thrilled with our trip and grateful we survived, and I’m personally grateful we had an awesome trip with such wonderful companions. I know this won’t be the last trip for us, so until next time.... hasta la proxima Camino!

Also, special shout out to all the readers from around the world! I’ve never had such a global audience! A snapshot of the blog audience in the middle of the trip!

Bilbao

On our only day in Bilbao, we woke up early to take photos of the Guggenheim and beat the crowds. I had always wanted to visit this museum and see Frank Gehry’s masterpiece. We walked along the river up to the museum and enjoyed the art and sculpture around the museum. We crossed the river to get even better shots:

As we over did it and still had time, we sat for breakfast in the park next to the Guggenheim and ordered coffees, juice, and breakfast sandwiches. This was fun as we got to see one of the fog sculptures activate.



After breakfast, we entered the museum which had a cool design and allowed you to view the architecture outside:

We first went to the room where they had monumental Richard Serra sculptures. I had recently seen some of his work at Dia Beacon in New York. I didn’t originally realize you couldn’t take photos, so here’s a few before I heard on the audio guide you couldn’t:

We went to all the galleries, viewed the Jenny Holzer exhibit, and the permanent collection which included a Basquiat, Cy Twombly, and Rauschenberg. Here we’re in front of a Jeff Koons:

Then we made our way to Jeff Koons’ “Puppy” which is similar to the one that was erected in Rockefeller Center a few years ago - here are a few photos including one of us trying to pet it:

We then hopped into a cab and headed to the old town. Here’s a photo of Saint Anton bridge which is right next to the Mercado de la Ribero:

At the market, we divided up and bought different pinxtos and shared them all together for lunch:

In Bilbao, you can actually walk around with drinks, so we took ours to go and walked on the original 7 streets in old town and over to the Cathedral of Santiago:

We then headed to Plaza Nueva or Berria for some coffee. Everything has two names as the use of the Basque language is very strong and prevalent. The plaza was hopping as folks chowed down on pinxtos. A photo of the plaza below:

We then walked through the city - we probably would have visited more churches if it wasn’t for the midday closures due to the siesta. Here’s a photo of the train station:

And the town hall:



At one point, we sat on a bench and snacked on some olives as we overheard a concert in the park that was across the river. We also managed to see a few pilgrims who were walking the Camino. Mary Ann said they must have just started as they look new!

We then walked back across the Nervion river on the Zubizuri bridge:

Then we got more drinks and walked passed the Guggenheim and back to our hotel where we rested. SunTransfers picked us up and took us to the airport. We had some dumplings and salad as we waited for our flight. Our flight was about an hour, but we were delayed about 30 minutes. SunTransfers picked us up again and dropped us off at Tryp Madrid Chamartin which is a Melia hotel. I had picked this hotel as it’s across the street from the train station - I had originally planned a half day in Segovia to see the aqueduct. Due to the train schedule options being out of sync, full, or expensive, we are planning to enjoy Madrid for our last day in Spain!

Astorga

We landed in Madrid safely and Mary Ann and I enjoyed coffee, tea, and croissants as we waited for Tresa from Germany. At the right time, we picked up our rental car from Hertz - they upgraded us to a bigger car - for the win!

We made our way over from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2 and picked up Tresa and we were off to the north. Here’s a collage of me driving and some shots of the scenery by Mary Ann:



On our three hour ride, Tresa and Mary Ann endured my singing as I tried to stay awake and Mary Ann tried to take pictures of Camino signs symbolizing a seashell as I whizzed right by. Here’s one of her many attempts:



She even tried to take a picture of shell signs that symbolize those who are making the pilgrimage and guides the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela when I had to point out one was just a Shell gas station sign....we all had a good laugh.

We made our way to Astorga where we parked and lunched at Restaurant Chalet de Josele which is attached to the Hotel Ciudad de Astorga. Here’s our meal which included a Spanish tortilla, smoked meats, and some croquettes:

After waiting a long time for our check, we went to the Episcopal Palace, a Gaudí designed building which is one of very few of his that was constructed outside of Barcelona. It now houses the Museum of the Camino and here are some photos:

We wandered the garden designed also by Gaudí and similar to the Palau Güell in Barcelona. In the garden, there were three angels that were designed by him as well that were supposed to sit on top of the building. I had us stand in front of the angels for a selfie





When we were walking to the cathedral, I realized there was a small slip of paper and envelope on our car as we had forgotten to pay for parking and leave a receipt on the dashboard. At first I thought the ticket was 90€, but looking at it closer and confirming with the tourism office, if we paid by 5:19 pm, we could cure the issue for only 3€ which we immediately did. Here’s a photo of the experience and Mary Ann slipping the envelope into the the box:

At the cathedral of Astorga, we picked up our Compostelas or pilgrim passports and got our first stamp! This was also to reduce the price of admission for pilgrims. We wandered the museum and cathedral - here are a few photos:

Then we hopped into the car and drove to Leon. After getting gas and circling around the block, we arrived at the AC Marriott in Leon where we dropped off Tresa to check in and left our luggage. Mary Ann and I dropped off the car rental about 3 minutes away and walked back to the hotel before it started to rain. 

At the hotel, I showered to wash the day off and Mary Ann and Tresa got a recommendation for dinner at a restaurant called Fabrica just around the corner. We shared a salad, ziti, and some pork cheeks with vegetables. Here’s a photo:

After months of planning, we had a successful logistical day with planes and a car, and tomorrow, we explore Leon before starting our walk on the Camino!